I was scrolling through my Facebook feed, wondering what I might miss once I focus more on other things. I seriously need to shift to another platform, especially after reading the heartbreaking news about political persecution in the Philippines. It’s all over Facebook. The stress builds up every time. What can I do? I have to admit, I feel helpless. It’s a heavy blow, especially after a former President had revived a sense of hope.
And, as usual, I came across a post that made my heart weep.
It showed a woman behind jail bars, wiping away tears and waving from a tall building at a small figure below. The child was wearing a graduation cap and gown.
In another photo, the child is walking away. At first glance, I thought she was crying, but when I looked closer, her face showed not just sadness but anger. Her body language spoke volumes. She didn’t look like a child broken by sorrow but like someone filled with quiet resolve.
It caught my attention. The usual scene would show a kid in tears, overwhelmed by emotion, but not this one. She reminded me of someone I once deeply knew.
Someone in the comments said the woman behind bars was the child’s mother, imprisoned for killing someone while high on drugs. If that’s true, I recognize the girl’s reaction. It’s the look of a child who became self-aware too early. She’s angry, not at life itself, but at the stupidity and recklessness of the adults around her. Worse, they are her parents.
She had the aura of someone tired of the mess, someone who wanted to escape but instead chose to confront her reality head-on.
She walked and looked like she was thinking, What’s the best way to face this? I’ll go on. I’ll win. I’ll accept this, move forward, and learn from it.
It was as if she were whispering to herself:
I will never end up like them.
I will make something of myself.
I will rise from this mess and show the world what I’m made of.
I may come from the same bloodline, but I will break the cycle.
I know what’s right and how to live a better life. I will do it. I will make it.
Maybe my imagination is running wild, but the reality is that there is a much larger problem consuming the Philippines. Things feel even more uncertain now, especially after the leadership that once brought order ended, and the person who gave people hope was unjustly removed from his land and is now being dealt with abroad.
Drug addiction is affecting every layer of our society. In a country already buried in corruption and injustice, it seeps into homes, schools, and communities.
The child I saw, and many others like her, might not even look for a guide. Who would guide them anyway?
Children like her are often already observant and sharp. They’re forced to grow up fast because they are the ones who directly suffer the consequences of the failures of the very people who were supposed to protect them.
They want answers, but they won’t get them from drug-riddled adults who lost their way.
I can only hope our kids find a path. I pray they don’t lose themselves trying and don’t fall into the same trap.
Damn those drugs. Damn this reality.
